


Homecoming

by stellarose



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Sara Lance, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Legends of Tomorrow Team are Family, Post-Season/Series 05 Finale, Sara Lance Needs a Hug, Team as Family, protective Ava Sharpe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:08:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarose/pseuds/stellarose
Summary: Post-Season 5. The team rescue Sara and return to the Waverider.A story of hurt/comfort injury/illness/recovery and just how much Sara and Ava have come to rely on one another.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 64
Kudos: 343





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated :) I will respond to any questions, theories, etc.

Ava had rarely seen the bridge on the Waverider so full. She stood at the centre of the main console, looking over schematics she hardly understood as the extended team milled around, waiting for Gideon to let them know they had arrived. John, Zari, Astra and Gary sat on the steps that led up to Sara’s office, Behrad was lying on the floor, half underneath the console, fiddling with the wires, with Ray, wearing his Atom suit, crouched by his side, giving instructions that no one else understood. Nate sat cross-legged beside Ray, pretending to understand when in fact all of this was well outside of his wheelhouse. Mick lurked over to the side, a beer in one hand and gun in the other, with Charlie also lurking nearby, fidgeting and generally not know what to do. Nora stood by Ava’s side, and placed a comforting hand on Ava’s forearm.

“We’re nearly there,” Nora said. “It won’t be long now.”

Ava nodded. She wanted to thank Nora, to thank them all, but she couldn’t find the words. As captain, or interim captain or co-captain or whatever she was, she should have something to say to the team. Sara would know what to say. Sara always had a snappy send-off before a mission, and a pep-talk for anyone who needed it. The team needed it now, and Sara wasn’t here, yet she was the reason that all of them were.

“Gideon?” Ava asked.

“ETA is under two minutes, Captain Sharpe,” Gideon replied.

Ava nodded and took a deep breath.

Behrad appeared from underneath the console. “All set, Cap,” he said.

“And it will definitely work?” Ava asked.

“There’s a good 86% chance everything will work just fine,” Ray smiled with positivity, but caught Nora’s eye. “Well, 56% chance everything will be fine, 30% chance it will work to some degree, and 14% of… well, ummm….”

“When did the Legends ever let a 14% chance of total failure ever stop them?” Charlie asked, stepping forwards. Ava caught Charlie’s eye and nodded.

“ETA is under one minute,” Gideon said.

“Ok, everyone,” Ava said. “You all know what to do.”

“Yeah, for most of us, it’s sit here and wait,” Zari said.

“Because having eleven people go changing in for a secretive, quiet, grab’n’go mission isn’t remotely practical,” Charlie said, effectively finishing Zari’s sentence. “Come on, Z, you’re not being side-lined. We’re all gunna be needed on the other side.”

“We ready?” Mick asked.

“Ready,” Ray said, giving Nora a quick kiss, and standing by Ava’s side.

“Ready,” Ava breathed, feeling anything but ready. Though to be honest, it had been weeks since she’d allowed herself to really feel anything. As soon as they’d discovered that Sara was alive, then been working to find her whereabouts and a plan to get her out, Ava had needed to stay pragmatic and stay strong. Letting emotions get in the way could jeopardise the whole mission, and nothing mattered more than getting Sara back.

“The ship is in position, Captain Sharpe,” Gideon said.

“Good luck,” Nora said. The rest of the team expressed similar sentiments.

Ava looked around as Ray handed her the modified time courier. Ava slipped it on her wrist and opened the portal. “Ready or not, Sara, here we come.”

…

It took Ava, Mick and Ray a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness and the weird, green lights in the long, empty corridor where they found themselves. There were fat electrical wires and pipes running overhead, and the whole place felt cool and smelt of damp.

“Looks like we hit the 30% close-but-no-cigar spot,” Mick said and took a swig of his beer.

“Did you bring a beer here?” Ava asked.

“I just opened it,” Mick said, as though that was a completely reasonable excuse.

Ava shook her head, deciding not to push the point right now. “Ok, we need to figure out where on this planet we are, how far we are from Sara, and - ”

“Ava?” a small, muffled voice croaked from the gloom.

Ava spun around, her heart in her throat. “Sara?”

“Am I hallucinating?” Sara asked. “This still feels like I’m alive, and I haven’t had hallucinations yet. I’ve actually been doing pretty well on the whole minimal side-effects front, but hey, might as well start now. Hearing your voice is a good one.”

“Sara, you’re rambling,” Ava said, looking around but unable to see her girlfriend or any sign of where she could be. “Where are you?”

“In here,” Sara said, and kicked against the wall. “The doors look like concrete wall panels, but they’re doors.”

Ava placed her hand agains the cool concrete Sara was behind. “How do they open?”

“There’s a keycard-like device that the guards have,” Sara said. "I lifted one once, but they don’t work from the inside, and figured it was best not to be caught with it, so replaced it the next time they took me for my daily constitutional.”

“Ok,” Ava said, forcing herself to keep breathing as she looked up and down the hallway, confirming that it was definitely deserted. “We need to get you out and get out of here right now. Ray, scan the door or panel or whatever it is. Figure out how to open it get her out.”

“I’ll burn it,” Mick said.

“It’s concrete, Mick,” Ava said, “And Sara is on the other side.”

“It’s not actually concrete, though it does closely resemble it,” Ray said, scanning the door panel with a device on his wrist. “It’s only half an inch thick, but - ”

“So we can kick it down,” Mick interrupted.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried that?” Sara said from the other side.

“ _But_ ,” Ray stressed, “I don’t understand the physical make-up.”

“Ray, figure it out. Mick, keep watch. Sara, we - we’re taking you home, ok? We’re not leaving without you.” Ava wished she felt as confident as she sounded.

“Hey babe?” Sara asked.

“Yeah?”

“I love it when you use your captain voice.”

Ava shook her head, increasingly exasperated. “Sara, now really isn’t the time. How are you? Are you - are you ok?”

“‘Ok’ is a very relative term,” Sara said while Ray fiddled with the device on his suit and Mick paced up and down, sipping on his drink. “I - I’ve been better, but I’m not dead. Bit worse for wear, but I’m more or less in one piece. Need a shower, though.”

“Blondie sounds high as a kite,” Mick said.

“Not helpful, Mick,” Ava said, her stomach clenched and her heart pounding. This was taking too long, and she had a feeling that Sara was downplaying whatever was wrong with her. “Gideon will fix you up, babe,” Ava said. “Ray, how much longer until you - ”

“Got it!” Ray grinned. “I - I think. I mean, I haven’t done this before and it’s an alien substance that I’m dealing with and though I have some experience with aliens this is - ”

“Ray!”

“Right. Ah, Captain Lance? You might want to stand back.”

“Not a lot of ‘back’ to stand in, but doing my best, Ray,” Sara said.

Ava and Mick flanked Ray as he pointed his wrist at the door. For a moment nothing happened, then a small hole began to appear in the middle of the door.

“Umm, so, it might be better if Sara comes out rather than us going in,” Ray said. “The molecules are extremely unstable, and once I get the hole big enough, Captain Lance, I strongly suggest you climb out. I can’t move without risking the hole closing up and, ah…”

“Sara, can you do that?” Ava asked.

“If you and Mick can give me a hand,” Sara said, her voice sounding clearer now there was a foot-wide hole in the door, “Let’s give it a shot. Gunna need the hole a little bit higher though, Ray. I might have missed a few meals, but I’m not going to fit through that postbox-slot.”

“One moment, Cap,” Ray said, and the hole grew. Sara reached out, and Ava and Mick grabbed her by the hands, helping her out of the cell. The three of them collapsed onto the floor, and as Ray turned off the wrist device, the hole instantly closed.

“Ok, we have to move,” Ava said, climbing back to her feet and holding her hand out to Sara. She wanted desperately to hold Sara in her arms, but there’d be time for that later. Now they had to get back to the Waverider. Sara took Ava’s hand and let her girlfriend pull her to her feet. Sara swayed slightly and held onto Ava for support.

“I split my drink,” Mick grumbled.

“You ok?” Ava asked Sara. Even in the eery green light, she could see dark marks on Sara’s knuckles, and that her girlfriend looked pale, her eyes without their usual sparkle.

“Nothing Gideon can’t fix,” Sara said, holding onto Ava. “I hope.”

“Captain Sharpe, time to open the portal and - ”

“No, wait!” Sara said, cutting Ray off. “I can’t leave. Not yet; they bugged me.”

“What do you mean?” Ava asked.

Sara wished she could hold and kiss her girlfriend, but knew this wasn’t the time or place. “They put something in me, in my wrist. You can feel it here,” she said, taking Ava’s hand and placing it against the inside of her right wrist and pressing down slightly. “It doesn’t hurt, but you can feel it there.”

Ava’s thumb ran across what felt like a hard, narrow tube, about a centimetre long, also noticing how cold Sara’s arms felt. “How do we get it out?” she asked.

“Cut it,” Mick grunted. “Then let’s go.”

“What, no, there has to be another - ”

“Mick’s right,” Sara said. “You have to cut it out. It’s ok, babe. I am very high on a lot of alien drugs. I don’t know what most of them do, but one of them is definitely a painkiller. Ray, you got a knife?”

“Boy scouts are prepared for anything,” Ray said, though his smile didn’t hide the apprehension in his eyes. “But Sara, you know that, something like that…”

“I know, Ray.”

“It’s probably - ”

“I know. It will be,” Sara said.

“Will be what?” Ava asked.

“Booby-trapped,” Sara said. “But it’s a tracker. So long as that’s in me, they can find me. Babe, hold onto me. Ray, cut it out, then let’s get out of here.”

“Sara, what…?”

“Ava, trust me, please,” Sara said.

Ava nodded, and wrapped her arms around Sara, supporting her. Sara gripped the back of Ava’s coat with her left hand and held her right out to Ray. Ray pressed the knife into Sara’s wrist beside the rod which sat just below the skin. Sara flinched slightly, but it wasn’t too bad.

“Getting the tweezers,” Ray said, pocketing the knife and quickly pulling a pair of tweezers out of one of his pouch pockets. He put the tweezers around the rod and gave it a small tug. Sara inhaled sharply. “Sara, I think…”

“Just do it,” Sara said through gritted teeth.

Ava looked ahead, unable to bring herself to look at what Ray was doing.

“I’m so sorry,” Ray said.

Sara gave a nod then Ray gave a sharp pull on the rod and it came free.

“Destroy it,” Mick said, knocking the tweezers from Ray’s hand which fell to the floor and stomped his heel on the small rod.

“Can I take it back for - ”

“Tracker stays. Get your tweezers. Pantsuit, open the portal.”

“Sara?” Ava breathed. For a moment after Ray removed the rod, nothing had happened, then she felt Sara slump against her. “Mick, help me! I think I’m going to drop her. Ray get the courier off my wrist.”

Mick and Ray jumped into action as Sara’s knees buckled and Ava was afraid she was going to fall. Mick scooped Sara up into a bridal carry, but Sara’s left hand kept a powerful grip on Ava’s coat. Ray opened the portal into the Waverider.

“Hang on, Sara,” Ava said, the words catching in her throat as they stepped forward into the bright white light of their ship. “One more minute, babe. Just - just hold on, ok? We’re so close, Sara. We’re so close.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to everyone on the feedback on the first chapter :)

The extended Legends team were all still waiting on the bridge as the rescue team stepped through the portal.

“Straight to the medbay,” Ava said to Mick, ignoring the curious and concerned faces of her team.

Mick grunted in agreement, and they awkwardly shuffled towards the corridor of the Waverider, Sara still clinging to Ava like a lifeline.

“What do we do?” Zari asked, breaking the team’s silence.

“Just - figure it out!” Ava snapped, unable to give everyone a specific order. Sara was her only priority right now, and the rest of the team were going to have to think for themselves.

“Ray, you have blood on your suit,” Nora said.

“I better get cleaned up,” Ray said. “Gunna need to get hydrogen peroxide.”

“I’ll come with you,” Nate said, eager for anything to do.

“So will I,” Behrad offered.

“I will stay out of the way,” John said.

“Ditto,” said Astra.

“Call me if you need me,” Zari said, wishing she had something to do, but staying by John’s side.

“Same here,” said Charlie, sitting down a little closer to Zari than was strictly necessary.

“I’ll come with you!” Gary said, about to follow Nora, Ava, Mick and Sara. Ava glared at Gary. “On second thoughts, I’ll stay somewhere else.”

“Good idea,” Nora said and Gary hung back. Within moments they were in the medbay, and Mick tried to lower Sara onto the chair, but she wouldn’t let go of Ava.

“It’s ok, babe,” Ava said softly, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be right by your side.”

Sara mumbled something incomprehensible, but didn’t let go.

“What do I do?” Mick asked.

“Ava, just let her hold onto you for a bit,” Nora said. “You sit down first, then we can position Sara in your lap. It isn’t ideal, but…”

“That would work, Mrs Palmer,” Gideon said. “I can tell by Captain Lance’s vitals that the idea of being parted from Captain Sharpe triggers a panic response.”

“Ok,” Ava said, awkwardly sliding onto the chair and sitting sideways, while Mick placed Sara on her lap. Sara rested her head against Ava’s chest while Nora hooked the medical bracelet to Sara’s left wrist.

“Nobody need me,” Mick said as he left the medbay.

“I’ll find you a cushion,” Nora said. “And a blanket.”

“And something for her wrist,” Ava said. “The cut isn’t deep but it needs to be covered. There’s some steri-strips in one of the cupboards.”

“On it,” Nora said, rummaging through the cupboards in the medbay for the supplies.

“Thanks,” Ava said, as a blue light scanned Sara’s body.“Is she ok, Gideon?” Ava asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. Apart from the firm grip on her coat, Sara’s body was limp in her arms.

“It appears that Captain Lance is suffering from numerous injuries and has been injected with large quantities of a substance or substances I am unfamiliar with. I am afraid to start treatment until I can be sure that anything I do will not further compromise Captain Lance’s health.”

“Let’s get science team on it,” Nora said as she wiped clean the wound on Sara’s wrist, and used two steri-stijps to close it. Ava gently stroked Sara’s cold hand, carefully avoiding her cut and bruised knuckles.

“I do believe that Dr Palmer and Mr Tarazi will be of assistance in this case,” Gideon said.

“I wanna go to bed,” Sara mumbled.

“You have to stay here, Sara,” Ava said, gently brushing Sara’s dirty hair away from her face. “Gideon’s going to fix you up.”

“No. Bed…” Sara moaned.

“Sara…” Ava said, though she really wasn’t sure that arguing with Sara in this state was at all beneficial. Sara looked so sick and small and broken that Ava couldn’t deny her anything.

“Wait,” Nora said. “Gideon, is there any reason the medical bracelets have to be set-up in the medbay? Could one be moved into Sara and Ava’s room?”

“The medical bay is the room in which medical treatment takes place,” Gideon said.

“I’m going to take that as a ‘maybe’,” Nora said. “Hey Ray!” she called.

Ava looked at Sara. “You need a shower, babe.”

“Mmm…”

“Will you let me shower you? Then you can go to bed.”

“Captain Sharpe, may I recommend - ”

“Gideon, is Sara dying? Because if not, I - ”

“No, Captain Sharpe, she is not,” Gideon said, “But if you would be so kind as to let me continue, may I recommend administering adrenaline to Captain Lance. I believe that I can do so safely without causing her harm. The adrenaline would last for up to an hour, which would assist you in bathing her.”

“Do it,” Ava said. “Please. And ask Zari to join us.”

“Of course, Captain,” Gideon said.

Ray, Nate and Behrad arrived in the medbay, Ray back in his normal clothes but smelling like bleach. Nora set about explaining their idea about connecting a medical unit up in Sara and Ava’s room, and the boys began disassembling the other chair in the medbay in order to figure out how to move it. A couple of minutes later, Sara lifted her head.

“Are we on the ship?” she asked quietly, her voice raspy.

“Yes,” Ava said.

Sara opened her eyes and blinked, lifting her head to look around. “I’m not dreaming?”

“No, babe. You’re here. You’re home.”

“Ava?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t feel too great.”

“I’m not surprised,” Ava said, trying to smile but feeling closer to tears. She couldn’t cry. This wasn’t the time. “Zari and I are going to get you cleaned up and into bed.”

“Mmm,” Sara said, resting her head back against Ava’s shoulder.

“Oh, someone’s in a hurry,” Zari said, appearing at the door as Behrad raced out, almost running into her. “I was summoned?”

“Thanks, Zari,” Ava said, “I want to get Sara showered. Can you find her some clothes, please? Her pyjamas are in the bottom left draw of our dresser. Then once I’m done showering her, could you help me with her hair? It’s a mess and - ”

“Consider it already done,” Zari said. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom.”

“Need a hand?” Nate asked. “Carrying Sara, I mean. I - I’m not going to help in the bathroom.”

“No you are not,” Sara said, her words slurred.

“You need to let go of me, Sara,” Ava said. “Please.”

Sara sighed and reluctantly let go of Ava’s coat.

“Am I right to remove the bracelet, Gideon?” Ava asked.

“Yes Captain Sharpe,” Gideon said. “I am able to monitor Captain Lance’s condition without the bracelet on, however I cannot administer any treatment.”

“We’ll be as quick as we can,” Ava said.

“Come on, Captain,” Nate said, grateful for something to do as he scooped Sara up. “Let’s leave nerd team to do their thing.”

“Call me if you need me,” Nora said, stepping out of the way as Behrad returned with a screwdriver kit that Ray enthusiastically opened and they got to work.

“Thanks,” Ava said, keeping hold of Sara’s hand as Nate carried her to the bathroom.

“It’s the least I can do,” Nate said. “If you need anything, Ava, I - I don’t have any useful examples of things I can do other than carry Sara if needs be, but I - you know what I mean.”

“Yeah,” Ava said. Nate had been a huge support to her, especially when Sara had first disappeared.

Zari met them in the bathroom, having supplied half a dozen towels, two plastic chairs, her trolley of assorted beauty products, and Sara’s pyjamas and underwear. Nate placed Sara on one of the chairs and politely excused himself.

“We need to get her undressed,” Ava said. Looking at her girlfriend, it seemed to be taking all of Sara’s strength just to stay sitting upright, though she was slumped somewhat to the right.

“Fabric scissors,” Zari said, pulling the scissors out from one of the draws.

“What?”

“Cut her clothes. It’ll be quicker, and the Captain looks to be in a fair amount of pain as it is, so trying to undress her the traditional way will be slow and painful.”

“This’d be - fun another time…” Sara breathed, lifting her eyes to meet Ava’s. “And it doesn’t hurt - just uncomfortable.”

Ava gave Sara a small smile and shook her head, taking the scissors from Zari. Cutting away the clothing quickly revealed numerous bruises on Sara’s arms, chest and legs, most notably a large, multi-coloured bruise at the top of each of her thighs. Sara noticed Ava and Zari staring.

“Like an -Epi-Pen - everyday…” she explained.

Ava nodded. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“I might wait outside,” Zari said, as Ava went to cut Sara’s underwear off.

“Never see - a naked woman - before?” Sara teased.

Zari smirked. “I’ll go and see how those losers are going with the bracelet thingy and make sure someone puts clean sheets on the bed.”

“That’ll be - Gary,” Sara said, knowing Gary would be the one to volunteer.

“Don’t let him touch my stuff,” Ava said.

“You got it, bosses,” Zari said, letting herself out of the bathroom.

“Wanna join me?” Sara smirked, looking at Ava.

“You are terrible,” Ava said.

“You’ll - get wet anyway…”

“I know,” Ava said, shrugging off her coat and pulling her top off over her head. “Stop staring.”

“Better than - fantasies…” Sara breathed, still smirking.

Ava smiled despite herself as she finished stripping off, then half dragged Sara to the other plastic chair situated in the shower. She turned the water on. “Oops, sorry that’s a bit cold. Let me just -there we go.”

Sara sighed with contentment as the warm water ran over her battered body. She closed her eyes and lifted her head, letting the water run over her face. Ava found shampoo, conditioner, moisturising body lotion, and a face cloth on Zari’s beauty trolley, and returned to the shower. As gently as she could, she washed Sara’s body, shampooed her hair three times, washed her again, and conditioned her hair before turning the water off.

“No hot water - for anyone else,” Sara said.

“Actually Captain Lance,” Gideon said, “My hot water functions have been upgraded by Mr Tarazi in recent months, increasing their capabilities by 28%.”

“Which has translated to everyone spending 28% longer in the shower,” Ava said, again half-dragging Sara out of the shower and to the other chair, where she wrapped her in towels before quickly drying herself. “Umm, Zari!”

“Right here,” Zari said, pocketing her phone as the bathroom door opened. “Oh. You’re in a towel too. Want some clothes?”

“Yes, please,” Ava said. “Find Nora, ask her to get them. I need your help with Sara.”

“She’s your girlfriend, you dress her. I’ll deal with her hair.”

“Deal,” Ava said as Zari quickly went to find Nora. “Not long now, babe,” she said to Sara, drying her as best she could. Ava could tell it was getting harder and harder for Sara to stay awake and relatively upright as the adrenaline Gideon had administered was wearing off. “We’ll have to tucked up in bed in no time.”

“You’ll hold onto me?” Sara asked, now struggling to keep her eyes open.

“I’ll hold onto you,” Ava promised, wishing she could find the words to tell Sara how much she’d been yearning to have her back in her arms.

Zari returned, spraying Sara’s hair with an anti-tangle spray, before massaging in a leave-in moisturiser, monologuing about the benefits of the products. Ava buttoned up Sara’s flannel pyjama shirt and placed a towel around her shoulders as Zari plugged in the hairdryer and rummaged through her selection of combs for the exact one she wanted.

“Clothes for Ava?” Nora said, knocking on the door.

“You’re a life-saver,” Ava said, opening the door and taking the clothes. “How are Ray and Behrad going?”

“Nearly done. Gideon can complain to you about it later, she doesn’t exactly like the ship being re-arranged, but the boys think it’ll work. How’s Sara?”

“Hanging in there,” Ava answered.

“Ok. I’ll let you finish up,” Nora said.

The door closed and Ava quickly dressed in the sweatpants and t-shirt Nora had provided before turning her attention back to Sara. Getting Sara’s underwear and pyjama pants on was more of a challenge, but Sara seemed impervious to any pain or discomfort as Ava dressed her and Zari combed and dried her hair.

“Nearly done?” Ava asked Zari, as she gently applied eye cream to Sara’s face.

“Almost,” Zari said. “At least she looks cleaner.”

“Still - awake…” Sara mumbled.

“Well, you still look like shit,” Zari said.

“Clean - shit,” Sara smirked.

“Good to know your terrible sense of humour is intact,” Zari said.

“Mmm.”

“Hey, Gideon? Can you call Nate?” Ava asked.

“Mr Heywood is on his way,” Gideon replied.

A moment later Nate arrived and carried Sara to the bedroom.

“Sorry there’s still a bit of a mess,” Behrad said, gesturing to the missing panels in the wall and the wires poking out. “But it’s been a rush job. It’s all perfectly safe so long as you don’t touch any of the exposed wires. We’ll tidy it up tomorrow if you want us to leave now.” The unit which usually sat under the chair in the medbay was plugged into the wall beside Sara’s bed. Her bedside table had been pushed aside, but the photo of her and Ava, and the framed cartoon of Sara, Laurel and Oliver that Behrad had drawn sat on top it it.

“But it’ll work?” Ava asked, pulling back the blankets before Nate gently laid Sara down.

“My estimations are that the healing process will take been fifteen to twenty-five percent longer than it would in the medical bay,” Gideon said.

“But it’ll be a hundred percent better for Sara’s mental health,” Nora said, standing in the doorway.

Ava nodded and connected the medical bracelet to Sara’s left wrist. Sara mumbled something incoherent and rolled onto her left side. Ava tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

“Gideon, have you been able to figure out what the alien drugs in her system are?” Ava asked, sitting on the side of the bed, gently brushing Sara’s hair.

“Though my analysis is still incomplete, I believe it is a concoction of drugs consisting of substances that produce similar effects as painkillers, steroids and methamphetamines or other psycho-stimulate drugs.”

“Why did Sara collapse the Ray removed that tracker rod?” Ava asked, not sure if Sara had fallen asleep or not.

“Sara said the rod was booby-trapped,” Ray said.

“My best guess is that the removal of the tracking rod reversed the effect of certain elements in the drugs Captain Lance had been administered, as well as creating some sort of electric shock which has caused severe nerve damage in her right hand and forearm.”

“Wait, what?” Ava asked, her stomach tightening.

“S’ok, babe,” Sara breathed. “Gideon’ll - fix me.”

Ava looked between Sara and the others still in the room. “Is there… anything else we should know?” Ava asked.

“Captain Lance is suffering from multiple injuries, though I suspect the painkiller aspect of the alien drugs is still in effect, almost completely eliminating the pain,” Gideon said.

“What sort of injuries?” Nora asked, now standing by Ray’s side.

“Numerous skeletal and muscular injuries including multiple fractures in her hands and to her forearms. Multiple fractured ribs. Two minor fractures to her pelvis. Multiple - ”

“Enough!” Ava exclaimed, feeling sick. “Sorry. I - everyone out. Please. I just… I’m sorry, I - I just… I need to be alone with her.”

“We’re here if you need us,” Nora said, giving Ava a squeeze on the shoulder.

Ava nodded and watched as Nora ushered the boys out of the room. Once the door closed behind them, Gideon slowly began to dim the lights. Ava went around to her side of the bed and climbed in. It felt so natural yet so peculiar at the same time to have Sara beside her. As carefully as she could, Ava slid her left arm under Sara’s body and wrapped her right arm over the top. Gideon turned off the lights.

“I’m - gunna be ok - Ava…” Sara whispered.

Ava kissed Sara’s neck. “I’m so sorry, babe.”

“I’m ok now,” Sara said. “You got me.”

“I’ve got you,” Ava said, holding her arms against Sara’s. Their bodies fit together so perfectly, and Ava could feel Sara slowly relaxing into her hold.

“I knew you’d - find me. Knew you’d - come - and bring me - home…”

Ava could feel Sara’s slightly shuddery breaths. “You really had me worried. I thought that this time… this was really it.”

“Gunna take - more - than aliens… I fought - for you.”

Ava nestled her head in Sara’s neck, breathing in her scent mingled those of with Zari’s fancy beauty products. “I love you,” Ava whispered.

“Love you too,” Sara breathed, as sleep finally overtook her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ava groaned as her alarm went off. She detangled herself from Sara’s body and rolled over to turn it off as Gideon slowly turned the lights up. The beeping stopped before Ava could find the source, and it took her brain a moment to catch up with what was going on. Sara was back. She was here, asleep in their bed. They’d saved her.

“Gideon - what the hell?” Ava mumbled, rubbing her eyes, remembering that she definitely had not set an alarm.

“My apologies, Captain Sharpe,” Gideon said. “However, you need to be alert to the fact that Captain Lance is beginning to wake, and when she does so, she is going to be quite ill. I suggest the prompt acquisition of a bucket and some towels.”

“Umm… why?” Ava asked, sitting up properly. Sara was beginning to stir beside her.

“To prevent Captain Lance’s vomit from getting all over the bedding and floor, Captain Sharpe.”

“No, I understand that,” Ava said, pushing back the blankets and swinging her legs out of the bed. “Why is Sara going to be sick? How do you know?”

“I have been able to direct approximately 62% of the alien toxins in Captain Lance’s body into her digestive system, and the quickest way to expel them from her body is going to be via - ”

“Yep, getting a bucket,” Ava said, slipping her feet into her slippers and hurrying out of their bedroom. She returned with the supplies a couple of minutes later. Sara was semi-conscious as Ava sat down on Sara’s side of the bed.

“Hey, Sara? Babe? You need to sit up.”

“Ava…” Sara breathed, her eyes glassy and her cheeks flushed.

“Sit up. Come on, sit up, Sara,” Ava said, helping Sara to sit up and positioning their pillows behind Sara’s back. Ava draped one of the towels over Sara’s lap, and placed the bucket on top. “Just hold onto that and get it all out, ok? Being sick is never pleasant but this is going to help get the toxins out, ok?”

Sara forced her eyes to focus on Ava. “I feel sick…”

“You’re allowed to Sara,” Ava said, quickly tying back Sara’s hair, and followed Sara’s gaze which had fallen on the water bottles with pop-top lids sitting on the ground beside her. “Do you want a drink?” Ava asked.

Sara nodded.

Ava grabbed one of the bottles and put it to Sara’s lips. Sara drank greedily, downing half the bottle. “Gideon, can’t you help with fluids?” Ava asked.

“I have been helping,” Gideon replied. “I believe drinking is an instinctual response. I cannot ascertain the last time Captain Lance had a proper meal or drink, and in order to bring up the toxins- ”

“She needs something to bring up,” Ava said.

“Ava…” Sara said, her voice wavering as she hiccuped and coughed.

“It’s all right, Sara. You’re gunna be all right. Just - you gotta get it all up, babe.”

Sara coughed again and retched. Ava sat on the side of the bed, one hand supporting the bucket, the other rubbing Sara’s back. It seemed to take ages for Sara to get everything out of her system. Every time there was a pause, Sara would gesture for more water, which she’d sip at before vomiting up seemingly twice as much. After almost half an hour, Sara sunk back against the pillows, pale, sweaty and utterly drained.

“Is she done, Gideon?” Ava asked.

“That will be all Captain Lance vomits up, Captain Sharpe,” Gideon replied. “It has been more successful than anticipated, removing 68.6% of the toxins from her body. I will be able to find gentler methods of removing the remaining toxins, as well as commencing healing her wounds and administering a more natural pain relief.”

“Thank-you, Gideon,” Ava said, turning her attention to Sara. Ava placed the bucket on the floor, and wiped Sara’s face with the clean towel. “It’s all right, babe. You can rest now.”

Sara moaned, though from pain or relief or exhaustion or all three Ava couldn’t tell. Ava went and got a clean pyjama top for Sara and carefully changed her before helping her lie down properly and tucking her in. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, ok?” Ava said, but she had a feeling that Sara was already asleep.

Ava took the bucket, the towels and the pyjama top and quietly left their bedroom, confident that Gideon was watching over Sara. Ava threw the washing in the laundry shoot and rinsed out the bucket, filling it with disinfectant to soak. She went to the galley to find some more bottles of water.

“Is everything ok?”

Ava jumped, not having heard anyone approach. Nora stood barefoot in the doorway, squinting in the light, her hair all messed up on one side.

“I guess,” Ava shrugged. “Sara was sick. She - she’s asleep now. Gideon’s taking care of her. I’ll explain more in the morning.”

“And are you ok?” Nora asked.

“I’m fine,” Ava said, grabbing the water bottles.

“Ava, since we found out Sara was alive and found where she was…”

“I know,” Ava said, having already heard whatever Nora was going to say before from her and from other well-meaning members of the team. “I’ve been working too much. I’ve been pragmatic. I have to be, Nora. Sara needs me, and I need to be able to take care of her. I can’t do that if I’m an emotional mess.”

“Ok,” Nora said, “But you know you can’t keep this up forever. Bottling everything up.”

“I know, I know,” Ava said. No one had said that as bluntly as Nora, but others had implied it. “And I won’t. But right now - ”

“Sara needs you. I understand.”

Ava nodded. “I’m going back to bed.”

“Sleep well,” Nora said, giving Ava a kiss on the cheek.

“You too,” Ava said.

When she returned to their bedroom, she noticed that Gideon had dimmed the lights to a gentle glow, and initiated the air-filtration system so that the room no long smelt like vomit. Ava placed the bottles of water on the medbay unit, then went and climbed back into bed. Gideon turned off the lights and Ava lay in the dark, listening to Sara’s regular, if somewhat shallow breathing.

“I know you’re asleep but I am holding on by a thread, Sara,” Ava whispered, forcing emotion down as she held Sara’s hand. “I - I missed you so much and I…” Ava trailed off. Sara was asleep; she wasn’t going to respond. Ava might as well be talking to herself. She snuggled up close to Sara and willed herself back to sleep.

…

“Good morning, Captain Lance,” Gideon said brightly, “It is currently 11:18am UTC.”

Sara sat up. She felt light, as though a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. Her body felt wonderful, healthy and fit. There wasn’t a cut or a mark on her hands, and her muscles moved freely as she stretched her arms. Sara looked around the bedroom, eyes finally falling on Gideon, who sat on the armchair bedside Sara’s bed, which for once was not covered in clothes.

“This isn’t real,” Sara said, realising what was going on. “Though it is good to see you, Gideon. I almost forgot how hot you are.”

“I believe you’ve just been starved of human contact, Captain.”

“You’re being modest. That top is extremely flattering,” Sara said, admiring Gideon’s well-fitted top which showed just the right amount of cleavage.

Gideon smiled. “I accept the compliment, Captain.”

“I look like shit in real life, don’t I?” Sara asked.

“I’m sorry to say that has been the colloquialism most used by the team to describe your appearance.”

“How come I can see you?” Sara asked, “As in, real you? I didn’t see you when I was in a coma after fighting Atropos.”

“No, Captain. You can see me now as you are in a semi-conscious state, not quite awake, but not asleep, either. I could wake you, but then I would miss this opportunity to speak with you.”

“You want to know what happened?” Sara asked.

“I’m more interested in the alien toxins you were given, as better understanding their administration and general affects on your person will assist me with removing the toxins which remain from your body, and help with the healing process, which, to use another colloquialism favoured by the team, your immune system could currently be described as ‘stuffed’, and your endocrine system isn’t much better, to say nothing of the assorted muscular-skeletal injuries you’re carrying.”

“But you can fix me, right?” Sara asked.

“Of course I can,” Gideon replied, giving Sara a smile.

“Good. And I have questions for you too,” Sara said. “Starting with, is the bedroom really this clean, or is this just how you’d like it to be?”

“As much as this is how I would appreciate you kept the room, the only alterations to your perception are your own self, and me. During your absence, Captain Sharpe has been meticulous in keeping the ship tidy.”

“Controlling what little she can when it feels like everything is completely outside of her control,” Sara said, as much to herself as to Gideon. “Is Ava ok?”

“Captain Sharpe has found your disappearance and extended absence over these past months quite challenging,” Gideon said.

Sara sighed. She’d known Ava wouldn’t take this well, especially so soon after the zombie incident. “Where is she now?”

“In the gym, sparring with Miss Tarazi and Miss Logue. Captain Sharpe has been teaching them hand-to-hand combat skills over the past few months, deeming their prior skills ‘embarrassing’ and ‘rudimentary at best’. Though she did not use those phrases in front of Miss Tarazi and Miss Logue themselves, of course.”

“Oh, Gideon, how I’ve missed you and the fact that you listen to all our conversations, all the time,” Sara chuckled. “But good on Ava, training Zari and Astra.”

“Captain Sharpe is a hard task-master, but both her students have made considerable progress.”

“I’m sure they have,” Sara said. “How did you convince her to leave my side?”

“That was accomplished by Mr Heywood, Mrs Palmer and myself. I assured Captain Sharpe that you would not be awake for some time and that I would be keeping an eye on you the whole time, and Mrs Palmer convinced her to have breakfast and distract herself by training for a little while.”

“Wait - Mrs Palmer? That really was Ray with Mick and Ava! And Nora is here too?”

“That is correct, Captain Lance. Charlie is also on board the Waverider.”

“Everyone’s here!” Sara grinned. “What - why?”

“For you, Captain Lance. The team have all contributed in various ways to your rescue, and all wished to be on board when you returned.”

“Huh. They really are my power,” Sara said. “Also, I bet Ava didn’t know that actual, real, human you would be the one watching me.”

“No, Captain. Captain Sharpe has yet to see me in my human form, and would therefore have been unlikely to consider this possibility.”

Sara nodded and thought for a moment. “How did they find me?” Sara asked.

“With a little help from some of your other friends,” Gideon said. “It was Mr Rory who suggested contacting the ‘Princess’ - ”

“Kara, of course.”

“Yes. Miss Danvers and Dr Danvers were instrumental in providing the means to locating you. Dr Danvers had access to software I could use to trace the energy signature left when you were abducted, which Mr Tarazi was then able to adapt to track your exact location.”

“I guess I owe Alex a drink then,” Sara said. “Once I’m all patched up, remind me I need to take Ava to meet the Danvers sisters. My shout. They can even come for a ride on here. Paris in the roaring 20’s, or the Great Exhibition in London or, I don’t know, whatever they want. Whenever they want.”

“I will make note to remind you of that, Captain Lance, though I believe the Danvers sisters will just be relieved to know you’re alive and well.”

“Have they been notified? That I’m back?”

“I will see to that at once, Captain,” Gideon said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have some questions for you.”

“Fire away,” Sara said.

“I ask for any information relation to the toxins, Captain.”

Sara nodded slowly. “I want to say I was jabbed in the leg with the Epi-Pen like injector every day, but I think time worked differently there. Days weren’t 24 hours. I was regularly given what was a tranquilliser, and I have no idea how much time passed when I was out.” Sara took a deep breath before continuing. “The Epi-Pen drug definitely contained some sort of pain-killer and something that put me on high alert. Oh, and it must have provided me with nourishment, because I haven’t had proper food or drink. Or a shower until last night. The tranquilliser did what is sounds like, and I don’t know what the blood-lust drug was, but it’s effects were pretty quick and brutal.”

“Blood-lust drug, Captain?” Gideon asked.

“It wasn’t a party, Gideon. Why do you think I’m so beaten up? It was some weird prison-gladiatorial world. Every day, or every whatever counted as a day, I’d be marched to the arena, given a hit of the blood-lust drug, fight whatever the opponent was with whatever weapons were in the cache that day, get marched or dragged back to my cell, have the Epi-Pen concoction slammed into my leg, then an hour or so later be tranquillised and sleep for however long. Rinse and repeat,” Sara said, finishing the short version of her story.

“May I ask what side-effects you had, Captain?” Gideon asked.

Sara thought for a moment. “Cold hands and feet. Struggling to focus my vision. Sometimes I’d wake up with vertigo. Stomach cramps. General muscle cramps, especially in my feet and calves. I’m not really sure what else,” Sara said, looking at Gideon. “I wasn’t really given much time to think. I - ” Sara paused and sighed. “In a way, it reminded me of the League. You fight, you survive the day, you sleep, and then you do it all again. That mentality of never planning ahead any further than that day, I - I hate that. I hate it because I got past that with Ava. Ava - those moments I had when I was alone and I could think - I knew you were coming. All of you. There was nothing I could do but fight and survive another day, because every day was one day closer to you all finding me. I convinced myself that that was how I was helping you all, just by staying alive. It’s much harder to trace a dead body. So I played their games. I fought, and I can assure you, Gideon, it is very different fighting when you have nothing to lose compared with when you have everything to fight for.”

Gideon gave a small smile. “I’m glad to hear that, Captain Lance, and I believe Captain Sharpe will like to hear that too.”

“Can I see her? Can you call her in?” Sara asked, suddenly desperate to see Ava.

“I can do that, but you must remember that you are actually very ill, Captain,” Gideon said.

“But you’re helping. You can tell her everything I’ve just told you.”

“Yes, Captain, and I now have a better idea as to how to remove some of the remaining toxins. Please be aware that I cannot give an estimated time of recovery, as I am dealing with unknown substances, which seem to be blocking the effects several of my regular treatment options.”

“Can’t I just throw-up the rest? It wasn’t pleasant, but at least it was quick.”

“I’m afraid not, Captain,” Gideon said. “Those which remain are much more firmly embedded into your system.”

“Well, I have trust in you, Gideon. You might be kind of creepy, but you’re really hot and you’ve never let me down before when I’ve had a genuine non-god-related injury or illness.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Captain Lance. I’ve just called Captain Sharpe to your bedroom and am in the process of waking you up.”

“It’s been good seeing, Gideon,” Sara smiled.

“You too, Captain Lance,” Gideon smiled.

Sara blinked and Gideon faded from sight as the door slid open and Ava appeared, still in her gym gear. “Sara!” she exclaimed, worry turning to relief as she saw her girlfriend awake.

“Hi,” Sara croaked, lying flat on her back, her limbs feeling like dead weights, her breathing shallow and sharp.

“Hi,” Ava said, coming and kneeling by the side of the bed. She gave Sara a kiss on the forehead. “How do you feel?”

“Like shit,” Sara mumbled. “Gideon looks hot.”

“What?” Ava asked, looking around the room.

“Human Gideon.”

“Gideon is an AI, babe,” Ava said gently, brushing her fingers through Sara’s hair.

“Yeah,” Sara breathed. “Green juice…”

“What?”

“Gideon?” Sara asked. “Ray’s green juice?”

“Once you are feeling well enough to eat and drink, Mr Palmer’s green juice may be of assistance, Captain.”

Ava shook her head, sure that Gideon was humouring Sara’s ramblings. “You can go back to sleep, Sara. I’m going to take a quick shower, then I’ll come and sit with you. For what it’s worth, you’re looking better now than you did last night,” Ava said quietly. She desperately wanted to talk to Sara, but she needed Sara to be fully lucid for that.

“Mmm,” Sara sighed, closing her eyes. “Ava, you’re really hot too. Sorry, Gideon. Ava wins.”

“No offence taken, Captain Lance,” Gideon said.

Ava stood up, still perplexed. “Go back to sleep, Sara. You’re talking nonsense. I’ll send Nate or Ray to sit with you, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“K,” Sara breathed, feeling the weightlessness of sleep washing over her. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank-you everyone for all the feedback. It means a lot :)

“You need a hand? Or a sandwich?” Charlie asked, eating a sandwich as she entered the bridge where Ava was standing at the console, looking at all the work that needed to be done. “I’ll grab you something to eat if you tell Gideon what you want.”

“Thank Charlie, but I’m good. I’m going to have to send some teams out,” Ava said, quite preoccupied with the task at hand. Sara had woken early, and Ava had helped her to eat half a piece of toast, a couple of slices of apple, as well drink as a mouthful of Ray’s awful but nutritious green juice and a few sips of tea, while Ava had had a small cup of coffee and the food that Sara didn’t finish. She’d then showered Sara, again with logistical support from Nate and Zari, before tucking a drowsy Sara into bed and coming to lose herself in work. “I know everyone wants to stay and help Sara, but - ”

“But getting out into the world might do us some good?” Charlie suggested, her mouth full of food.

“Exactly,” Ava said, deciding she had better things to worry about than berating Charlie for talking with her mouth full. “I’ve identified the three most urgent cases which need to be dealt with, but also shouldn’t be too difficult. With all the extra people around, I can split the team into three groups.”

“So you can QB and stay with Sara?” Charlie smiled.

“No, I’ll lead a group,” Ava said, avoiding Charlie’s eye.

Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Really? You want to leave her now?”

“Please don’t tell me what I want,” Ava said, clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to keep her voice even. She was tired and and worried and scared, but didn’t know how to talk about it. Gideon had everything under control. What Ava needed was a distraction, like her trip to Hell when Sara had been in a coma. Sitting around waiting and worrying wasn’t going to help anyone. “I’ll lead one of the teams.”

“Then I’ll stay behind,” Charlie said. “I love Gideon, but if Sara wakes up, she needs a real person here, and I don’t know if human!Gideon will cut it. Besides, I came here to help. Isn’t Nate with her now?”

“Yeah,” Ava said, making a mental note to later ask about this whole human-Gideon thing. “Ok, you can stay. That means there’ll only be three people on Ray’s team, but that will still work.”

“What are the cases?” Charlie asked, finishing her sandwich.

“An atlas printed in Denmark in 1972 has shown up in the medieval Venetian home of Marco Polo days before he’s set to depart on his grand adventure around Asia, there are reports of chickens laying golden eggs in Greece in the 5th century BC, and Agatha Christie is missing.”

“Isn’t she supposed to go missing?” Charlie asked.

“Yes,” Ava said. “And it looks like we’re supposed to find her.”

“Oh, and memory-flash her! That’s why she doesn’t remember what happens. That’ll be fun. And sorry about the chickens, I couldn’t do that mission regardless as I’d be crossing my own timeline,” Charlie smirked. “Tell whoever gets that job to say hi to Dion for me if they see him.”

“Is the team going to run into an earlier version of you?” Ava asked, exasperated. The last thing they needed was a complication like that.

“Nah, I left the scene for someone else to clean up. It was a bet that got out of hand, a bit of magic and too much alcohol. Olympian mead is about 30% proof and so delicious you can be four goblets in before you realise. Some of the stuff we got up to while drinking that, well, let’s just say I’m surprised that the Legends aren’t needed to clean it up more often.”

“I’ll put John on that mission,” Ava said.

“Ooh, look out letting Johnno loose in Ancient Greece. Better hope he keeps his toga on.”

“Zari will be with him. You were going to be on the Marco Polo case.”

“Aww, I love Venice,” Charlie sighed. “Oh, well, next time. I’ll go replace Nate on Sara-watching duty. Get something to eat before you go.”

Ava nodded, though she had no intention of eating. “Gideon, can you please call the team to the bridge. We all still have jobs to do.”

…

Sara woke suddenly with a sharp intake of breath. She went to push herself up, but pain coursed through her left arm and her right arm was unresponsive. Sara cursed loudly, falling back against the pillow.

“Woah, shit, boss! Scare me, why don’t ya!” Charlie exclaimed.

Sara lay back and looked around the room as she tried to control her breathing, her eyes slowly adjusting to the light and her surroundings as her nightmare faded away.

“My apologies, Captain Lance,” Gideon said. “I was not expecting you to wake so suddenly, and had thus not supplied pain killers. If you slowly count backwards from ten, the painkillers will be in effect before you reach one.”

“Ten… nine…” Sara mumbled through jagged breathes. “Eight… seven…” It felt as though waves were washing over her as the pain subdued. “Six… five… four… there we go. Thanks, Gideon.”

“Sara, are you ok?” Charlie asked, hovering beside the bed. “I was totally absorbed in that Rebecca Silver book Ava had on her bedside table, and you threw me out of quite a fantasy, let me assure you.”

Sara looked at Charlie and managed a small smile. “You’re here,” she croaked.

“Yeah, I’m here. You ok? You want a drink?”

Sara gave a nod. Charlie grabbed the water bottle beside Sara’s bed and held it while Sara drank greedily.

“Wait, you’re not gunna bring that back up, are you?”

“Don’t think so,” Sara said, and cleared her throat.

“Good, because most things I am fine with, but if you vomit, you’re gunna make me vomit.”

Sara chuckled. “I don’t think I’m going to be sick again. I managed to keep down a mouthful of Ray’s green juice this morning. Can you help me sit up a bit?”

“Of course,” Charlie said. “Zari had Gideon fabricate you a fluffy cushion and blanket if you want those too.”

“Why not?” Sara smiled as Charlie held up the pale pink faux-fur cushion and blanket to show her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but where’s Ava?”

“England, December, 1926.”

“What?” Sara asked, lifting her head as Charlie slid Ava’s pillow and the cushion under Sara’s head and shoulders to prop her up a bit.

“She’s with Nora, Mick and Astra out looking for Agatha Christie,” Charlie explained. “Turns out there Legends are required to bring her back to Harrogate, and flash away her memories.”

“Is Ava ok?” Sara asked. “Oh, and you can tell Zari that this cushion is super soft.”

Charlie chuckled. “Are you ok is more the question. You didn’t answer before.”

“I don’t know. Am I, Gideon?”

“You’re certainly in a better state than you were when you returned to the Waverider, Captain Lance.”

“That’s a diplomatic response if I’ve ever heard one,” Sara said. “But does it answer your question?”

“I’m gunna take it to mean that you feel about as good as you look.”

“I’m not really feeling anything,” Sara said. “My body feels like lead, but I’m not in any pain.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Captain Lance,” Gideon said.

“What about Ava?” Sara asked Charlie. “We haven’t had time to talk.”

“You need to,” Charlie said. “She - I think she’s been struggling, Cap. Since the team found you she’s put her her walls and won’t let anything touch her. You’re the soul of this team, Sara. I know I haven’t been around the Waverider much, but I can tell things have not been the same without you.”

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” Sara said. Knowing that Ava wasn’t coping too well hurt her more than any of her own injuries. “But what about you? Back on the ship?”

Charlie smiled. “Yeah, just for a few days. The team’s been keeping me updated, and once I got word they’d found you I told them I was coming along for the rescue mission. The band were great when I told them I had to skip town for a few days to go deal with a family crisis. Since I got back with them I’ve made sure to talk about my family, how I could be needed at a moment’s notice. They get it, and are happy that I have a supportive extended family, even if you’re not local, as such.”

Sara smiled. “I’d hug you if I could.”

“I’ll take a rain-check,” Charlie grinned. “I’m happy to wait. Just happy to see you again.”

“But you got stuck with babysitting me while Ava took a team out?”

“Everyone’s gone out,” Charlie said, “And I volunteered.”

“Everyone?”

“Getting you back has kinda been the priority, Cap. There’s a bit of a backlog of jobs.”

“That’s very - agh!” Sara groaned, her face screwing up with pain. “Dammit, Gideon! What the hell?”

“My apologies, Captain Lance. You appear to experiencing muscle spasms in your right arm.”

“I know,” Sara said through gritted teeth. “Can you make it stop?”

“The spasms should cease momentarily, Captain,” Gideon said.

“Count back from ten?” Sara asked, tears stinging her eyes.

“The spasms are not related to the pain medication or any treatment I am currently providing. They are an involuntary reaction, but as I said, they should cease momentarily.”

“Dammit Gideon,” Sara muttered.

“Anything I can do?” Charlie asked, certain that there wasn’t but feeling the need to say something.

“No. It’s easing,” Sara breathed.

“I believe that Dr Palmer’s team shall be returning within minutes, Captain Lance,” Gideon said. “I can ask Dr Palmer to come and see you, if you wish. Bandaging your wrist will provide support to the damaged area and stop you from accidentally twisting your arm.”

“Yes, please,” Sara said. “But can’t you just heal it?”

“I have had to triage your injuries, Captain,” Gideon explained. “As a result, I am healing those on your chest first, along with the complications the toxins have caused with your immune and endocrine systems. The muscular-skeletal injuries, though frustrating and painful without pain-relief medication, present no serious or immediate threat to your health. There is also a considerable amount of the alien toxins still in your system, which are blocking some of my usual procedures. I do not wish to force anything for fear of causing greater damage.”

“Oh, come on, Gideon, you just don’t like it that the boys moved the medbay unit to Sara and Ava’s room,” Charlie teased.

“That too, Charlie,” Gideon said, “However I would never do anything but my upmost to assist Captain Lance.”

“I love you too, Gideon,” Sara smiled.

“Dr Palmer, Mr Tarazi and Mr Green have entered the Waverider, Captain. They had taken the jump-ship to Venice in 1271.”

“Send Ray this way with a first-aid kit as soon as he’s ready, Gideon,” Sara said.

“Gary’s going to want to see you,” Charlie teased.

“No,” Sara said. “I can’t deal with his well-meaning but in-your-face level of care right now.”

“Dr Palmer is on his way, Captain.”

“Thanks Gideon,” Sara said. “You don’t have to stay, Charlie,” she said kindly.

“Yeah, but I want to,” Charlie said. “You don’t want anything to eat? Fruit, chocolate, Big Mac, cereal?”

Sara chuckled and thought. “Chicken rice? You might have to feed it to me, though.”

“I shall start fabricating that for you now, Captain,” Gideon said.

“Sara!” Ray grinned as the door opened and he entered the bedroom, still in his 13th century robes, carrying a large, modern first-aid kit. “Good to see you awake and sitting up, more or less.”

“Good to see you too, big guy,” Sara smiled.

“You look like a plague doctor,” Charlie said.

“I’m actually dressed in fashions a hundred years too early,” Ray said, placing the first-aid kit on the floor and searching for supplies.

“How’d the mission go?” Sara asked.

“If we ever need a mid-20th century atlas written in Danish, we have one in the library,” Ray said, finding what he wanted and standing up.

“So, success then?”

“Success! Would you mind if I take your arm out from inside the bed, Sara?” Ray asked.

“Do what you gotta do, Ray. Sit on the bed too if you need to,” Sara said.

Ray sat on the edge of the bed beside her and gently pulled her arm out from under the covers. “Oh, oops. My apologies, Sara, I - ”

Sara laughed. “It’s fine Ray.”

“What happened?” Charlie asked.

“Ray touched by boob getting my arm out. More action than I’ve had for months.”

Charlie laughed.

“It was an accident and I am very, very sorry, Sara,” Ray said, blushing red.

“Ray, it’s fine, really,” Sara said.

Ray nodded and changed the topic by giving a more detailed account of their few hours in medieval Venice, which included Gary ending up knee-deep in canal water, a delicious seafood snack, almost getting completely lost in the maze of streets, and ultimate victory finding the Polo household, gaining entry and acquiring the time-displaced atlas.

“You tell a good story, Ray,” Sara said.

Ray rolled her pyjama-top sleeve back before before tucking her arm back into the bed. “That’s not uncomfortable?”

“I have no feeling in it, Ray,” Sara said. Ray’s smile disappeared. “Hey, it’s all right,” Sara said, looking him in the eye. “You had to get that tracker out of me, and I knew there’d be a risk. Gideon will fix me.”

“That I will, Captain,” Gideon said.

“I’m still sorry,” Ray said.

Charlie’s stomach rumbled. “Sorry about that. What’s the time?”

“It is just after 3:45pm UTC,” Gideon said.

“No wonder I’m hungry,” Charlie said. “I haven’t had lunch.”

“Behrad’s fabricating us some polenta and ragu right now. You should join us,” Ray smiled.

“Will you be all right, Sara?” Charlie asked. “I’ll eat with the boys then come back with your chicken rice.”

Sara nodded. “Gideon can call you if I need anything. Maybe Ava will be back soon.”

“Maybe,” Ray said. “Her mission sounded very exciting. Finding Agatha Christie! It sounds like a real Agatha Christie-esque mystery. I can’t wait for Nora to tell me all about it. I’ll see you later, Sara.”

“Thanks, Ray,” Sara said as Ray picked up the first-aid box and left the bedroom.

“I’ll be ten minutes tops,” Charlie said as Gideon began to dim the lights. “Just eat and come back. You sure you’re gunna be all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. To be honest, I’m more worried about Ava than myself,” Sara said. “But don’t repeat that.”

“Secret’s safe with me,” Charlie said. “Nora was meant to go with Nate’s team, but she insisted on going with Ava to keep an eye on her. We’ve all noticed it. Well, some of the boys mightn’t’ve, but, you know what I mean.”

Sara nodded. “Don’t worry, I know how to get through to Ava. I know this can’t have been easy for her, but I’m here now, and I’m going to help just as much as she’s been helping me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Sara and Ava talk


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank-you for all the lovely feedback, it really means a lot :)

“Come and talk to me,” Sara said, nodding to Ava’s side of the bed. She was propped up against quite a number of pillows and cushions, Zari having acquired more for her, plus a selection of throws and blankets to make the bed more comfortable. It reminded Sara of the bedding section at Sink, Shower ’N’ Stuff.

“Sara, I have to - ” Ava protested.

“Talk to me,” Sara pouted. “Gideon, no timeline problems for the next little while. If someone in the team has an issue, get someone else to sort it out. If there’s a hero issue, get Nate and Ray on it. I am spending time with my girl.”

“Understood, Captain Lance,” Gideon said, “I shall be sure to adhere to your requests.”

A small smiled escaped Ava’s lips. “You’re very persuasive.”

“You can’t deny me anything,” Sara smirked.

“Only because you’re sick.”

“I’m getting better,” Sara said. For breakfast she’d had a whole piece of toast, a small apple, half a class of Ray’s green juice and a cup of tea, and managed to shuffle to the bathroom supported by Ava and Zari. There was a tiny bit of colour back in Sara’s cheeks, and a sparkle in her eyes. Her whole body felt achy and stiff, but there was no doubt she was on the mend.

“You are,” Ava said.

“No shoes on the bed,” Sara looking Ava up and down, “And take your jeans off too. You’re not getting into bed with jeans on. I’ll let you keep your top on though, it’s cute.”

“I’m not getting into the bed,” Ava said as she kicked off her boots. “It’s the middle of the morning, I - ”

“Jeans off, hop in the bed.”

Ava chuckled and shook her head, quickly pulling off her jeans.

“Ava Sharpe, are those stripy bikini-cut cotton knickers just for me?” Sara smirked, running her tongue across her teeth.

“You are terrible,” Ava said, climbing into the bed, still in her socks. “Your side’s warm,” she said, scooting over to be close to Sara. 

“I have a whole nest, thanks to Zari,” Sara said. “Come here and let me take care of you,” she said, tucking herself into Ava’s side. Though Sara’s right forearm and hand were still largely immobile, she could at least control the rest of her body, and was able to swing her left leg across her body and over Ava’s legs. She was glad Ava snuggled onto her side of the bed, as the medical bracelet still on her wrist probably wouldn’t reach if Sara had had to move across.

“What are you doing?” Ava asked, wrapping her arm around Sara. Sara still felt too boney and thin, but Ava knew it would take time for her fully recover.

“Taking care of you,” Sara said, her voice low. She reached up and stoked Ava’s face with her left hand, cupping her cheek and kissing her tenderly on the lips, then planted kisses along Ava’s jawline and down her neck.

“Babe…” Ava breathed, arching her head back to give Sara more space. “Is ‘taking care of me’ a euphemism?”

“It might be,” Sara said, gently placing kisses up Ava’s neck, getting closer to her ear. Ava giggled at the touch.

“I have spent months thinking about just how much want to take care of you,” Sara said, sitting back and gazing into Ava’s eyes, their faces only inches apart. “And there is so much I want to do, but you’re going to have to wait until I have full control of my hands, plus the stamina to actually pull it off. It’d be no fun if I had to take a breather part-way through. And no medical bracelet. We don’t want to be detangling ourselves in the middle of a care-taking session.”

“Dammit, Sara,” Ava said, crossing her legs.

Sara laughed. “Ava Sharpe, are you getting all hot and flustered just by my talking about caring for you?”

“Don’t tease,” Ava said, wrapping both arms around Sara and holding her close to her chest. “I missed you. A lot. Sometimes I’d think about the ‘care’ you offer, both in that way and just the little things every day. Cleaning our teeth together in the bathroom, making each other coffee, asking you if my clothes matched, holding your hand, having you there to bounce ideas… I - I really missed you, Sara.”

Sara nestled her head against Ava’s shoulder and wrapped her left arm across Ava’s chest. “Talk to me, babe. I know you’ve been keeping it all in. Whatever’s been going on, Ava, you can talk to me.”

There was silence for a moment. “Can you go first?” Ava asked.

Sara turned her head to look at Ava. “What do you mean?”

“Well, you were kidnapped by aliens, drugged, forced to fight… surely you need to talk too.”

Sara thought for a moment before nodding and letting go of Ava. She positioned both legs across Ava’s and took Ava’s hand. “I know this is going to sound insane, but I am ok, Ava. Really.”

“Sara…”

“Really,” Sara said, looking into Ava’s eyes. “This - it wasn’t easy. There were times when I was terrified. I was lonely, cold, miserable, afraid. But I never lost faith. I never gave up on you. All that time I knew that you were out there somewhere, and I knew that you and the Legends would be working to fix the problem and find me. My job was to stay alive long enough for you to find me. And you did.”

Ava nodded sadly. “But it took so long…”

“Ava, I spent years in the League and similar at the Vanishing Point, knowing that I had nothing and no one. No one was coming to find me then. No one even knew I was alive. I fought because I had nothing to lose. This was different. This time, I had everything to lose, and therefore everything to fight for. I fought for you. I was not about to lose everything I have worked for and gained over the past few years slip away. I had to be strong enough. I had to be enough. I have faith in you, Ava. And my faith was well placed. You came. You found me, despite me being lost in space. And I could not be happier or more proud of you.”

Ava fought back tears. “But you deserve so much better than this. If I hadn’t been so high, if I - ”

“No, stop that,” Sara said, letting go of Ava’s hand to gently wipe away Ava’s tears with her sleeve. “You’re right, I didn’t deserve it. A few years back, before I met you, before we got together, I would have thought differently. Everything I’ve done, everything that’s been done to me… it’s in the past. There will always be parts of it I carry with me, things I will never be ok with. I’ll probably always have nightmares, there’ll always be certain things that make me uncomfortable, certain triggers, but I know I am worth more than my past and the horrible things that happened. You showed me that.”

Ava closed her eyes, eyelashes wet with tears.

“Hey, look at me, babe,” Sara said, stroking Ava’s cheek.

Ava shook her head. “Sara, I…”

“Look at me,” Sara said kindly.

Ava opened her eyes.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” Sara said, “But somehow, over the past couple of years, you have made me feel so happy, and so loved, and so special, and so cared for that I - it started to change how I saw myself. I began to see that I deserved those things. I deserve this family. I deserve you. And that is very hard to me to say out loud,” Sara said, tears stinging her eyes. “I could have stayed seeing myself as a monster, living a half-life in the shadows, never allowing myself to think past tomorrow, but that’s not living. You brought back all the good bits that I thought I’d lost forever that night on the Gambit. Though you didn’t realise it, you gave me my life back, Ava. And now you’ve saved me again.”

Ava sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I just hate seeing you hurt,” she said, her voice cracking.

“I’ve had worse,” Sara smirked, though tears stung her eyes.

‘That’s not fair, though,” Ava said. “You keep getting hurt. You deserve so much better and if I’d only… If I…”

“Come here,” Sara said, as Ava trailed off. Sara leant back against the pile of pillows and they rearranged their legs so that Ava’s were over Sara’s, and Sara pulled Ava against her chest. Ava wrapped her arms around Sara’s waist and held her tightly.

“Am I hurting you?” she asked.

“No,” Sara said, holding onto Ava with her one relatively good arm. “I just wish I could hold you better. When you’re ready, you’ve got to talk to me, Ava. Tell me what’s been going on. When you’re ready.”

Ava allowed herself a few minutes to sit in Sara’s arms and calm herself enough to talk, while Sara traced random patterns on Ava’s back and kissed her hair. Once Ava was ready, she rested her head against Sara’s chest, feeling it rise and fall. “I think I - Somehow, I - I’m… I don’t know how to start.”

“Take your time,” Sara said, still drawing patterns on Ava’s back. “We’ve got all day, haven’t we Gideon?”

“I can certainly afford you and Captain Sharpe that amount of time, Captain Lance,” Gideon said.

“I forget she listens to everything we say and do,” Ava muttered.

Sara chuckled.

Ava groaned, realisation dawning on her. “She listens to us have sex?”

“She listens to us have sex,” Sara laughed.

Ava sighed and sat up, detangling herself from Sara’s hold. “God, you are so beautiful.”

“I look sickly and pale and pretty shit,” Sara said.

“But you still look beautiful,” Ava said.

Sara smiled. “You do too.”

“I’m trying not to cry. I bet I look all red and puffy.”

“And yet still beautiful,” Sara said, wiping Ava’s cheek with her thumb.

Ava grabbed the sheet and wiped her eyes properly. “We’ll change the bedding later,” she said and took a deep breath, leaning back agains the pillows and rolling onto her side to look at Sara. “I didn’t know what to do,” Ava said. “When you first went missing… Nate has been amazing. Zari’s really good too, and Ray and Nora. Even John and Mick. We had no idea what happened or where you were and I - I thought about leaving. Going and getting a civil service job in DC and just trying to… I don’t know. Live a normal life? Whatever the hell that means. But then we got in contact with the Danvers sisters and they… they showed up all hopeful and helpful and supportive.”

“Kara is the Paragon of Hope,” Sara said. “And I think a fair bit of that has rubbed off on Alex.”

“Definitely,” Ava said. “We used the software Alex provided to trace the alien signature from when you were abducted to that gladiatorial prison planet, but we decided that wasn’t close enough. Barging in and trying to find you on a planet roughly the size of Brazil would only lead to more casualties, and I wasn’t going to put anyone else at risk. So we called in Ray, and he and Behrad were able to adapt Alex’s software to pinpoint you.”

“And it worked.”

“Yeah,” Ava breathed, “But it took them nearly two months, and all that time… all that time I had to live with the knowledge that you were probably been beaten to a pulp by aliens and I - we were so close, but so far.”

“You did the right thing,” Sara said. “Not just invading the planet, I mean. Not putting the team at risk.”

“But you were getting beaten,” Ava choked. “You were being poisoned and beaten and…”

“And I am going to be ok,” Sara said.

Ava took Sara’s left hand and gently kissed her knuckles, the bruises now yellowing and the gashes morphed into angry pink scars. Ava had seen Sara’s body earlier that morning when they’d changed her pyjamas, the bruising was fading, but she was too skinny, and her movements were slow and looked painful “I really thought I’d lost you,” Ava said. “But I didn’t even know if I was supposed to mourn, because every time I thought that I could, there’d be some glimmer of hope and I - I don’t know. It was too hard to give up, but so hard to go on.”

Sara interlaced her fingers with Ava’s, trying to catch her eye to slightly tell her to continue.

“Sometimes I wondered if - if you were - if you’d been…” Ava stumbled over the words.

“Dead?” Sara asked.

Ava nodded. “I thought it might be easier. If - well, at least you wouldn’t be hurting and you wouldn’t be alone. If I thought you were somewhere nice with Oliver and Laurel…” Ava choked on her words as the tears came.

“Oh, Ava,” Sara said, resting her forehead against Ava’s. It hurt her to see Ava this upset, and to know that her mind had taken her down such a dark path.

“I didn’t know where you were,” Ava continued. “None of us did. We didn’t know what was happening to you and I couldn’t stop my mind from… I thought, if we could get confirmation you were dead, then I could… I could never move on, Sara, but… maybe I could do an Eliza Hamilton. Live without you for fifty years, make sure your legacy was remembered, do something good. For you.”

“Ray really got to you with the musicals, huh?” Sara said, managing a smile.

“Don’t tease,” Ava pouted, her cheeks wet with tears.

“Sorry,” Sara said, wiping Ava’s cheek with the sheet.

Ava wrapped her arms around Sara they held onto one another. “Co-captains for life, Sara. That’s what you promised,” Ava said. “Co-captains. It means doing it together. Not just one or the other. Both of us. Together. And you weren’t here and I know you didn’t mean to get abducted but it was so hard and I felt like it was my fault and and I don’t want to do it without you…” Ava broke into tears, her breathing shaky as she let out all the fear and anxiety she’d been bottling up, safe in Sara’s arms.

Sara cradled Ava as best she could, giving Ava time to cry. Sara had known this would have been hard on Ava, and it was going to take more than one conversation for them to move on, but this was a start.

“I will always find you,” Sara said. “I will always come back for you, wait for you.”

“But you did die, Sara. I saw it.”

“I know,” Sara said, “And I really need to make less of a habit of that, and I will try my upmost not to do it again. But you, Ava… you mean everything to me, and I love you, and I cannot wait to rejoin you on the bridge as your co-captain of this team, and in life.”

“Sara Lance,” Ava sniffed, wiping her eyes, “Are you proposing to me?”

Sara gave Ava a quick peck on the lips and smirked. “Why would I do that, babe? I thought we were already married.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Pardon me, Captain Sharpe,” Gideon said, “But Captain Lance is asking for you.”

“Isn’t Ray with her?” Ava asked, looking up from the large tome she had spread out on the table in Sara’s office.

“Yes, Captain, but Captain Lance is asking for you specifically.”

“She probably needs the bathroom,” Ava said, standing up. As much as Ava wanted to stay with Sara all the time, she didn’t want to be overbearing, and knew that Sara appreciated spending time with the rest of the team. Ava returned to their bedroom to find Sara and Ray right where she’d left them, Ray on the armchair and Sara in bed propped up against a seemingly ever-increasing number of cushions.

“Oh, Ava! Excellent, I - ah…”

“Ray needs the little boys room,” Sara said. “Off you go, bud.”

“Thanks, Sara. Ava,” Ray said, skirting out of the bedroom.

“Ok,” Ava said. “So, why do you need me?”

“I need a hug,” Sara said, somewhat pitifully.

“Babe, I’m trying to research the - ” Ava protested weakly.

“I had no human contact for months, Ava. I - I really just need… please…”

Ava was removing her shoes before Sara had finished, and within moments she was in the bed spooning Sara. “Is this better?”

“Yes,” Sara breathed, a shiver rippling through her body as she melted into Ava’s embrace. “Thank-you.”

“I’ve got you, you’re not alone,” Ava said, holding Sara as tightly as she dared. Though she didn’t know how to admit it out loud, this was what she’d much rather be doing than anything else.

“Sorry I’m being needy,” Sara said, “I just - I went without being touched for so long, and now I need…” Sara trailed off and sighed. “I guess I have to get used to allowing myself to vulnerable again. Especially with you.”

“I’m here for you, Sara,” Ava said, wishing she could hug away all of Sara’s hurt and insecurities.

“I know,” Sara said. They lay in silence for a few minutes. “What about you?” Sara asked, breaking the silence.

“What about me?” Ava asked. “I’ve been able to get hugs from team when I need them.”

“Not that,” Sara said. “I mean - how are you today?”

Ava sighed, knowing what Sara was referring to. “It’s still hard. I know it’s been five days, but I’m still adjusting. I hate that my mind went as dark as it did, and I have to keep reminding myself that you’re going to be ok. Sure, Gideon can’t heal you as quickly as usual given all the alien poison in your system, but it’s still a heck of a lot faster than if you were in a regular hospital.”

“The thoughts are normal,” Sara said. “Well, I know I’ve been there, anyway.”

“There’s no way we can say with complete certainly that something like this won’t happen again,” Ava continued. “And that’s what scares me. The uncertainty. Everything that’s happened to us, to you, I…”

“Ava…”

“I think you were right,” Ava said. “About what you said.”

“About…?” Sara asked.

“Life being beautiful and terrible. I just - I hope we get a healthy does of the beautiful before we’re slapped in the face with the terrible again,” Ava said.

“This, us, right now, this definitely falls into the beautiful column, babe,” Sara smiled, half rolling onto her back to look at Ava.

“Definitely,” Ava said, kissing Sara on the lips.

“Get why this would have been slightly awkward with Ray?” Sara asked after a while. “I’m not saying he doesn’t give good hugs, because he does, but… you know.”

Ava chuckled and kissed Sara on the neck. Another shiver ran through Sara’s body at the touch of Ava’s lips. “I get it now,” Ava said. “I was thinking, with Ray and Nora and Charlie all going back home tomorrow evening, what if we have bookclub this afternoon? Astra’s out with John doing some magic-something-something and they won’t be back until later, but…”

“Yes,” Sara said, “I’d like that. We’ll give the boys the keys to the jump-ship so they can have an afternoon out.”

“Good idea,” Ava said, “I’ll let everyone know.”

“Not yet though,” Sara said, snuggling even closer into Ava. “Right now, I just…”

“I know,” Ava said, gently running her fingers along Sara’s ribs. “I’m going to stay right here as long as you need me to.”

“Well then,” Sara smirked. “I hope you’re comfortable.”

“With you in my arms? Always,” Ava smiled and kissed the skin at the base of Sara’s neck, feeling the ripples of pleasure which vibrated through Sara’s body.

…

Sara sat on the edge of the bed with Ava kneeling on the floor before her, loosening the laces on Sara’s sneakers so she could more easily slip them onto Sara’s feet.

“Tell me if it hurts,” Ava said, gently lifting Sara’s foot and wriggling the shoe on.

“It’s fine,” Sara said.

“Babe…?” Ava questioned, looking up at Sara. She’d avoided learning the laundry list of injuries Sara had suffered for fear of further heart-break, but knew she had a couple of cracked bones in her left foot, from having a staff slammed into it, according to Sara. Gideon had assured them that Sara’s foot was healed enough to weight-bear, but Ava was still cautious. The last thing she wanted to do was cause Sara any pain.

“Ava, if it hurts, I will tell you. I promise,” Sara said, holding Ava’s gaze. “I can’t bend down far enough to touch my toes, however I will tell you if my shoes are pinching or too tight. No brave faces with you, babe, you get to see me at my very worst.”

Ava chuckled and concentrated on tying Sara’s laces loosely enough that the shoes wouldn’t be painful, but tight enough to be secure and not fall off. “Does that feel ok? Not too tight? I can fix it if - ”

“It’s perfect,” Sara said. “I don’t want to hurry you, but if we don’t get a bit of a move on, the team will be wondering what the hold up is.”

“I think they know the hold-up is me trying to dress a squirming toddler in the body of an injured adult,” Ava said, repeating the process with the other shoe. This was the first time Sara had been dressed in proper clothes, Ava opting for track pants and a zip-up hoodie as they were the easiest things to get Sara into but still looked half-decent. She’d tied Sara’s hair into a high pony-tail, but of course they’d ended up rolling on the bed being silly, and it had pushed her hair askance. Not that anyone would care, as regardless of the messy hair, Sara was finally looking somewhat close to well.

“I was not squirming!” Sara laughed. “You kept tickling me. Besides, if anyone had heard us before and saw in on us in this position, they might be thinking there’s another reason for the delay,” Sara smirked at Ava kneeling at her feet.

“Maybe later,” Ava said, standing up.

“Really?” Sara asked, grinning.

“If you’re up for it,” Ava said, tucking her hair back behind her ear.

“Yes,” Sara said, “But I still can’t reciprocate, sorry.”

Ava shrugged, knowing that was the case. Sara had regained minimal movement in her right hand, and kept it bandaged as a physical reminder to take things easy and not to push herself. “I’m sure we can figure something out. Ok, you ready?” She held out her hand to Sara, and gently pulled Sara to her feet.

“Remember, Captain Lance, that I do not recommend you being away from the bed for more than an hour,” Gideon said.

“I know, Gideon,” Sara replied as Ava removed the medical bracelet, “And I’m sure you’ve got the count-down timer on already and will be telling me how much time is left as we get close. But I need to do this Gideon. I wanna send my team off, especially with Ray, Nora and Charlie around for today’s mission. Ava can pilot, but I need to be on the bridge, even if only for an hour. And then I will come back to bed until everyone returns, and get up again for the debrief.”

“Of course, Captain Lance. Your team is waiting on the bridge, Captains,” Gideon said, and if Sara didn’t know better, she would have sworn Gideon was smiling.

Ava held out her arm. “Ready Captain Lance?”

Sara swayed slightly and her knees felt weak. She steadied herself and took Ava’s arm.

Ava wrapped her hand around Sara’s. “If you want me to get Zari…”

“I’ve got it, Ava,” Sara smiled, taking small, tentative steps, gaining more momentum as she moved. The bedroom door slid open, and the team’s voices echoed down the hallway. Sara looked up at Ava as they stepped into the hallway.

“Watch where you’re walking or you’ll trip over your own feet, babe,” Ava said as Sara stumbled slightly.

Sara chuckled. “Hey Gideon, did someone grab my favourite chair from my office?”

“Your preferred armchair waiting for you positioned in front of the main console on the bridge, Captain Lance,” Gideon replied.

“You got this, baby,” Ava said.

“ _We’ve_ got this,” Sara said. The bridge can into sight at the end of the corridor. “God, I love you, Ava. Also, I realise you’re taking a lot of my weight right now.”

“It’s fine,” Ava said. “I am always happy to carry you. I love you too, Sara.”

Sara grinned as they stepped out of the corridor into the bridge. “Then let’s do this. All right, Legends! Gideon, what have we got?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> Thank-you so much for reading, and for all the comments and kudos, it really means a lot :)
> 
> I will be back with more Avalance fics; the hiatus is long and my city is back in lockdown, but I'm not going to have something immediately the way I went straight from Homelands into this story. Thanks again for reading :)


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